Gareth Pugh buys back trademark from Rick Owens, plans return to runway as soon as September

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
May 21, 2020

Famed English avant-garde fashion designer Gareth Pugh is gearing up to reintroduce audiences to his namesake brand.

Via email, a representative from Rick Owens confirmed that Pugh recently bought back the 49% of his trademark that was sold to Rick Owens, as well as Owens’ Italian production partner Olmar and Mirta SpA, in 2006. The representative did not disclose any financial information. 

According to a report from WWD, the deal between Owens and Pugh - who was a mentee of the American designer and served as his intern at luxury fur label Revillon - was made on good terms, and Pugh plans to present a new collection as soon as September, in an inventive way that is still being planned. 

Given Pugh's track record, audiences can expect nothing less than the spectacular. The present moment, in which many leaders in the fashion industry is just warming up to the idea of revamping the modern fashion show, serves to highlight one of many ways Pugh has proved to be ahead of his time. See the designer's January 2011 collaboration with filmmaker Ruth Hogben for a video presentation of his collection at the Pitti Immagine showcase, as well as his New York City dance performance show in September of 2014. 

Pugh's last show was presented for spring/summer 2019.

“I’m really excited to start a new chapter,” Pugh told WWD. “We’re in a moment where we’re all being invited to invent the future, so for me it’s important to be part of that cultural conversation now more than ever.”

“Every designer should own his own name and I’m glad we were able to be any kind of help when he needed us," Owens told the publication. "Gareth and [his husband Carson McColl] are family, and I love that we were all married for a minute. But we always will be.”

A Central Saint Martins graduate, Pugh held his first solo fashion show in 2006, and was awarded with the Andam award in recognition of his talents in 2008.

Outside of the runways, Pugh has created fantastical works for stage, screen and more. Through Hard and Shiny - the independent creative studio focused on fashion, film, stage design and experiential entertainment founded by Pugh and McColl in 2018 - he has collaborated with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Cardi B, the New York City Ballet and The Royal Opera House in London. 

Pugh also has an open-ended creative partnership with choreographer Wayne McGregor, and has designed pieces for entertainers like Kylie Minogue and Beyoncé. The designer's works have been displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum.